Program objectives

Investigate a substantial, complex and relevant area of research
with specialised research skills that enable them to advance their
discipline.

Critically evaluate relevant research literature, theoretical
propositions, methodologies and findings to design and conduct original
research.

Cogently present, verbally and in writing research findings
which include propositions, creative works, insights and conclusions
to their peers and professional community.

Independently and systematically apply specialised technical
and research skills to plan and execute a research project, undertake
research ethically according to the discipline. standards and generate
new knowledge and original insights that make a contribution to their
discipline.

Apply principles of integrity, research ethics, judgement, adaptability
and responsibility in ways appropriate to an expert in their discipline.

Australian
Qualifications Framework

The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) is a single national,
comprehensive system of qualifications offered by higher education
institutions (including universities), vocational education and training
institutions and secondary schools. Each AQF qualification has a
set of descriptors which define the type and complexity of knowledge,
skills and application of knowledge and skills that a graduate who
has been awarded that qualification has attained, and the typical
volume of learning associated with that qualification type.

This program is at AQF Qualification Level 10. Graduates at this level will have systematic and critical understanding of a complex field of learning and specialised research skills for the advancement of learning and/or for professional practice.

The full set of levels criteria and qualification type descriptors
can be found by visiting www.aqf.edu.au.

Admission requirements

To be eligible for admission, applicants must satisfy the following requirements:

Completion of a relevant Australian university bachelor honours
degree with First Class Honours or Second Class Honours (Division
A) or equivalent,

or

completion of an Australian university Masters degree (with
a significant research component) or equivalent,

or

other qualifications equivalent to First Class or 2A Honours.

English Language Proficiency requirements for Category 3.

The PhD is based on supervision by a Principal and one or more
Associate Supervisors, therefore it is essential that applicants clarify
their topic for research and seek an academic staff member able to
provide supervision. Application forms, procedures for enrolment,
and the application process can be found on the Research website.
Applicants are advised to allow several months for discussion with
potential supervisors and for consideration of the application prior
to the commencement of the program.

If students do not meet the English language requirements they
may apply to study a University-approved English language program. On successful completion of the
English language program, students may be admitted to an award program.

Program fees

Domestic full fee paying place

Domestic full fee paying places are funded entirely through
the full fees paid by the student. Full fees vary depending on the
courses that are taken. Students are able to calculate the fees for
a particular course via the Course Fee Finder.

Domestic full fee paying students may be eligible to defer their
fees through a Government loan called FEE-HELP provided they meet the residency and citizenship
requirements.

Australian citizens, Permanent Humanitarian Visa holders, Permanent
Resident visa holders and New Zealand citizens who will be resident
outside Australia for the duration of their program pay full tuition
fees and are not eligible for FEE-Help.

International full fee paying place

International students pay full fees. Full fees vary depending
on the courses that are taken and whether they are studied on-campus,
via distance education/online. Students are able to calculate the
fees for a particular course via the Course Fee Finder.

Research Training Program (RTP) - Fees Offset scheme

All Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents and
New Zealand citizens commencing a Higher Degree by Research (HDR)
program will have their tuition fees paid by the Australian Commonwealth
Government under the Research Training Program (RTP) Fees Offset scheme.
The RTP Fees Offset scheme covers program fees for an HDR student
up to a maximum period of four years for full-time study or up to
eight years part-time study for a Doctoral program, and up to a maximum
period of two years for full-time or four years part-time for a Masters
by Research program. As part of the enrolment process, students
are required to submit proof of citizenship or permanent residency
status and transcripts of all previous academic study. This documentation
enables the University of Southern Queensland to determine eligibility
for an RTP Fees Offset place.

If a student's RTP Fees Offset entitlement expires before completion
of the program, the student will be required to pay full tuition fees.

Students eligible for an RTP Fees Offset place are those who:

have not used RTP Fees Offset funding in the previous three
years; or

have already used RTP Fees Offset funding and have successfully
completed an HDR program. Once a student completes an HDR program,
full entitlements of RTP Fees Offset are restored.

The Australian Commonwealth Government’s contribution
to program fees must be acknowledged on all published material relating
to a research project via a statement identifying the support received
through the RTP Fees Offset scheme.

Program structure

The Doctor of Philosophy is a 24-unit program made up of one
unit of research training, one unit of approved postgraduate elective
(coursework or research training as approved by the Associate Dean
(Research and Research Training) on advice from the supervisory team),
two units for a Research Proposal to support Confirmation of Candidature
and 20 units of independent research within your selected area of
study.

The award of the Doctor of Philosophy requires the successful
examination of the student’s thesis or research outcomes, work
based research project/s and professional learning.

The Doctor of Philosophy comprises a minimum of 16 units, although
students would normally complete 24 units, with the option to extend
to 32 units if needed. Students are required to enrol in appropriate
course(s) in Semester 1 and Semester 2 from date of admission through
to the date that they submit their thesis for examination, or alternatively
be on approved leave. Failure to enrol or not be on approved leave
may result in the student’s enrolment being cancelled. Students
studying full-time will need to enrol in 4 units each semester (Semester
1 and Semester 2). Part-time students will need to enrol in 2 units
each semester (Semester 1 and Semester 2).

The enrolment pattern of this program is required to reflect
the following:

Research Methodology Course (Schedule A) must be completed in
the first four units of enrolment.

Advanced Approved Course (Schedule B) must be completed within
the first six units of enrolment.

Research Proposal for Confirmation of Candidature (Schedule
C) must be completed after the successful completion of Schedule A
and Schedule B Courses and within the first eight units of enrolment.

Independent Research Courses (Schedule D) to commence in parallel
with Schedule A, B & C Courses as appropriate. After completion
of 8 units, it is mandatory to have completed the Schedule C Course
prior to enrolment further Schedule D courses.

Based on the research project (lab-based or non-lab based),
the appropriate courses should be selected within Schedule C and Schedule
D.

The proposed enrolment pattern for individual students will
be checked by the Faculty Associate Dean (Research & Research
Training).

Assessment

A student is admitted to this program as a provisional candidate
until successful completion of the Confirmation of Candidature process.

All students are required to complete successfully a Confirmation
of Candidature through enrolment in RES9510 or RES9511 course within
the first eight units of the program. The purpose of the Confirmation
of Candidature process is to ensure, as far as possible, a student’s
steady progress towards the successful and timely completion of the
PhD program. Students are expected to complete the Confirmation of
Candidature within 12 months full-time, or 24 months part-time enrolment.
The Confirmation of Candidature is completed in the courses RES9510
or RES9511, and consists of two components:

a written document; and

an oral presentation to a review panel leading to a recommendation
on Confirmation of Candidature.

The Faculty Research Office will notify students by email when
the Confirmation of Candidature is due.

Student progress will be monitored by compulsory Progress Reports.
Students who are deemed to be making adequate progress will be awarded
an ongoing grade. Those students who fail to submit a report, or who
have been deemed to be making little or no progress may be awarded
a Fail grade. When the progress is not satisfactory, the student
would normally be placed on conditional academic standing and performance
management processes will be implemented as per the Academic Standing,
Progression and Exclusion Procedure. The Office of Research Graduate
Studies will notify students by email when Progress Reports are due.

The final assessment in the PhD program is the submission of
PhD thesis that will be examined as per the Higher Degree Research
(HDR) examination schedule outlined below.

Program completion requirements

All PhD students must successfully complete appropriate courses
in Schedule A and Schedule B and complete the Confirmation of Candidature
process through Schedule C. Finally, a PhD thesis must be submitted
for examination as part of Schedule D.

All PhD students are required to submit a thesis for examination
which will be examined by suitably qualified examiners as per the
Higher Degree Research (HDR) examination schedule. A PhD degree will
only be awarded on the basis of the student successfully completing
the thesis examination process.

There is no prescribed minimum length for a doctoral thesis
as this will vary with the research topic and the form of presentation,
however, there is normally a maximum prescribed length of 80 000 words
for doctoral theses. A PhD thesis may be presented in the form of
a:

Standard Thesis

Thesis by Publication, or

Thesis with Creative Works.

Examination Criteria for the Standard PhD Thesis and PhD
Thesis by Publication

The thesis will be examined according to the following criteria:

The extent to which the student has demonstrated:

Originality;

Critical insight; and

Capacity to carry out independent research; and

The extent of the contribution to knowledge made by the thesis
and, in particular, its contribution to the understanding of the subject
with which it deals; and

The suitability of the thesis for publication.

Examination Criteria for a PhD with Creative Works

The PhD with Creative Work Component examination criteria includes
the student’s demonstrated capacity to produce original creative
work. The student’s production of original creative work should
be evidenced in the creative work itself together with an exegesis.

Required time limits

IT requirements

Students should visit the USQ minimum computing standards to
check that their computers are capable of running the appropriate
software and versions of Internet web browsers and to check the minimum
and recommended standards for software.

Students are able to enrol in any offered mode of a course (on-campus,
external or online), regardless of the program mode of study they
enrolled in.

Full-time candidates undertaking research in the following areas
should enrol in RES9502 Doctoral Research Project D (Non-Lab)
- full-time for each semester of their candidature.
This will normally be for a total of six semesters.

Full-time candidates undertaking research in the following areas
should enrol in RES9503 Doctoral Research Project D (Lab)
- full-time for each semester of their candidature.
This will normally be for a total of six semesters.

Students are able to enrol in any offered mode of a course (on-campus,
external or online), regardless of the program mode of study they
enrolled in.

Part-time candidates undertaking research in the following areas
should enrol in RES9500 Doctoral Research Project B (Non-Lab)
- part-time for each semester of their candidature.
This will normally be for a total of 12 semesters.

Part-time candidates undertaking research in the following areas
should enrol in RES9501 Doctoral Research Project B (Lab)
- part-time for each semester of their candidature.
This will normally be for a total of 12 semesters.

Students are able to enrol in any offered mode of a course (on-campus,
external or online), regardless of the program mode of study they
enrolled in.

Students are able to enrol in any offered mode of a course (on-campus,
external or online), regardless of the program mode of study.

Schedule A course must be completed within the first four units
of enrolment and Schedule B course must be completed within the first
six units of enrolment. Schedule C course must be completed within
the first eight units of enrolment. The enrolment is to be consulted
with a student’s supervisor.

Full-time candidates undertaking non-lab based research should
enrol in RES9500 Doctoral Research Project B (Non Lab) (2 unit) or
RES9502 Doctoral Research Project D (Non Lab) (4 unit). This will
normally be for a total of six semesters. (Students should contact
the Faculty Research Office.)

Full-time candidates undertaking lab based research should enrol
in RES9501 Doctoral Research Project B (Lab) (2 unit) or RES9503 Doctoral
Research Project D (Lab)(4 unit). This will normally be for a total
of six semesters. (Students should contact the Faculty Research Office.)

Course

Year of program and semesterin which course is normally studied

Enrolment requirements

On-campus(ONC)

External(EXT)

Online(ONL)

Year

Sem

Year

Sem

Year

Sem

Schedule A - Research Methodology Course – choose one
course from the list below, to be completed within first four units
of enrolment:

Pre-requisite: Students must have successfully completed HMT4005 or BCA8002 or HMT4007 or be enrolled in DPHD program

Schedule B - Advanced approved Course – choose one
course from the list below, to be completed within first six units
of enrolment

Approved postgraduate course as appropriate to the relevant
field of study, decided on by the student in consultation with their
supervisor. Alternative courses, endorsed by the supervisor, must
be approved by the Associate Dean (Research & Research Training).
The following are recommended courses.

Students are able to enrol in any offered mode of a course (on-campus,
external or online), regardless of the program mode of study they
enrolled in.

Students are able to enrol in any offered mode of a course (on-campus,
external or online), regardless of the program mode of study.

Schedule A course must be completed in within the first four
units of enrolment and Schedule B course must be completed within
the first six units of enrolment. Schedule C course must be completed
within the first eight units of enrolment. The enrolment is to be
consulted with a student’s supervisor.

Part-time candidates undertaking non-lab based research should
enrol in RES9506 Doctoral Research Project A (Non Lab) (1 unit) or
RES9500 Doctoral Research Project B (Non Lab) (2 unit). This will
normally be for a total of 12 semesters. (Students should contact
the Faculty Research Office.)

Part-time candidates undertaking lab based research should enrol
in RES9507 Doctoral Research Project A (Lab) (1 unit) or RES9501 Doctoral
Research Project B (Lab) (2unit). This will normally be for a total
of 12 semesters. (Students should contact the Faculty Research Office.)

Course

Year of program and semesterin which course is normally studied

Enrolment requirements

On-campus(ONC)

External(EXT)

Online(ONL)

Year

Sem

Year

Sem

Year

Sem

Schedule A — Research Methodology Course – choose
one course from the list below to be completed within first four units
of enrolment:

Pre-requisite: Students must have successfully completed HMT4005 or BCA8002 or HMT4007 or be enrolled in DPHD program

Schedule B — Advanced approved elective Course –
choose one course from the list below, to be completed within first
six units of enrolment

Approved postgraduate course as appropriate to the relevant
field of study decided on by the student in consultation with their
supervisor. Alternative courses, endorsed by the supervisor, must
be approved by the Associate Dean (Research & Research Training).
The following are recommended courses